Clinical placements play an important role in learning a new profession, but students report about poor placement experiences. Standards have been laid down for improvements within clinical training in Prehospital Emergency Nursing programmes in Sweden, but no studies have been carried out in this field in a Swedish context. The purpose of this study was thus to describe the experiences of Prehospital Emergency Nursing (PEN) students of their clinical placement and the effect on their learning process. Data were collected in 28 individual interviews and analyzed in accordance with Flanagan’s Critical Incident Technique. Three main areas emerged: the professional clinical supervisor, the clinical placement setting and the learning strategy. All these areas played a significant role in the PEN students’ learning progress and development into a new professional role. The choice of clinical supervisor (CS) and clinical placement is important if PEN students’ learning is to be an effective and positive experience. The prehospital environment is unique and can have positive and negative effects on student learning depending on the support and structure given during their clinical placement. A learning strategy based on reflective dialogue, CS continuity and a learning structure based on the prehospital environment is presented.

Aims and objectives.  Describe and understand the patient’s first encounter in emergency care at the emergency department, as experienced by the patient, next of kin and first providers from different professions.

Background.  The emergency department is most often described as having high levels of satisfaction with the quality of care delivered. Although the patients appreciate clinical competence, quick assessment and technical skills, a close connection between patient satisfaction and vulnerability has been shown.

Design.  A lifeworld research perspective was used in four different situations at the emergency department.

Methods.  The data consisted of 14 open-ended interviews with patients, next of kin and first providers.

Results.  The analysis showed that narratives of the past, present and future characterises the encounter where mutual narratives form a foundation for those involved in the encounter. Five constituents further described the variations; vague rules and conflicting expectations in the encounter, an encounter with the biological body, ‘courtesy encounters’, isolated in a timeless encounter, striving for meaning in the encounter.

Discussion.  Instead of expecting the patients to know the unwritten rules of the emergency department, the first providers could give clear information about expected waiting times and what to expect in the encounter. The challenge is to make a meaningful comprehensible context for all involved which can be generated in the interpersonal encounter.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The findings highlight the importance of disclosing the rules of the game by means of giving clear information which would give possibilities for the patient to maintain control, for strengthening the nurse’s role as the patients’ advocate and for strengthening the effort for an emergency department to become more of a learning organisation.

The patients’ sexual life after a myocardial infarction is important for his/her quality of life. In spite of this, many patients are in doubt regarding their sex life after a myocardial infarction (MI) and the sexual information received, and counselling from health care providers has been seen to be insufficient. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of ‘The 25-item Sex after MI Knowledge Test’ in a Swedish context. A convenience sample was recruited. The scale was translated into Swedish and completed by 79 former patients from The Heart and Lung Patients’ National Association on two occasions, with an interval of 2 weeks. The scale was tested for face and content validity, internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The result in this study indicates that the instrument has good face and content validity and displayed a moderate internal consistency (alpha 0.61). The instrument showed some level of instability in test–retest reliability with 60% of the items presenting moderate or strong agreement between the test and retest. Further studies that use this instrument in larger and more diverse samples are thus needed.

The purpose of this article was to explore sexual knowledge in persons who had suffered from myocardial infarction (MI). Seventy-six Swedish persons completed the "Sex after MI Knowledge Test" questionnaire. Overall, 53% of the men and 45% of the women scored maximum in the test. In a comparison between sexes, the men scored significantly more often a correct answer compared to the women for two out of the 25 items. The levels of correct answers were less then 50% for 14 out of the 25 items in both sexes. In conclusion we found that people who had suffered MI had poor levels of knowledge about sex and that there were some differences concerning lesser knowledge among the females in comparison to males. In regard to application, using a validated instrument facilitates an interactive communication between the patient and health care professionals, and opens up for a tailored education in line with the patient's and his or her partner's needs.

Background: After being through a myocardial infarction (MI), a severe recovery period ensues for the patient. Longterm follow-ups are helpful, but what this should include differs between patients. Today there is no established approach to identify needs for support after an MI. Aim: The aim was to describe sense of coherence (SOC) over time in relation to sex, as well as further SOC in relation to quality of life (QoL) and treatment satisfaction in patients with an MI. Methods. This study had an observational and longitudinal design and followed 18 women and 60 men with an acute MI for 49-67 months after the onset of MI. Instruments used were the SOC-13 and the Seattle Angina Questionnaire. Results: Women scored lower SOC than men. A main effect of time was shown for comprehensibility which increased significantly from baseline to the long-term follow-up. Women increased from a lower level to an equal level as men at the long-term follow-up. The total SOC was significantly associated with QoL and treatment satisfaction. Conclusion: High comprehensibility and high SOC give the patient a better basis to handle life after MI. Thus, healthcare professionals should keep in mind that SOC and especially comprehensibility have meaning for the patient's ability to handle her or his recovery. Healthcare professionals need to together with the patient identify and work with lifestyle factors that contribute to increased comprehensibility about the disease, which gives the patient the foundation to preserve and promote her or his health both in the short and long term.

A common focus in research studies within the Emergency Department (ED) is physician patient relations, experiences of the triage model and nurses´ experiences of caring. Little has, however, been written about different first providers´ experiences of working on the “front line” at the ED. The aim of this study was to describe and understand experiences of being the first provider on the “front line” at the ED, as expressed by nurse assistants, registered nurses and physicians. A reflective lifeworld research approach was used in four different caring situations. The data consisted of eight open-ended interviews with first providers. The analysis showed that being the first provider on the “front line” at the ED entails a continuous movement between providing and responding through performing “life-saving” actions and at the same time create a good relationship with the patient and the next of kin. Five constituents further described the variations of the phenomenon. The readiness to save lives creates a perceived stress of time pressure and the first providers adopt different strategies to cope with the work. Instead of leaving the first providers to find their own way to cope with the complex situation, there are needs for a redesigning of the internal work process within ED organizations.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiac disease is a chronic illness that has extensive impact on patients and their partners. No previous review has been made on how the partner relationship is affected following cardiac disease. The review limited itself to the main cardiac disease of myocardial ischemia, arrhythmia and heart failure. AIM: The aim of this review was to identify how the partner relationship is affected following cardiac disease after hospital discharge.

METHOD: CINAHL, PubMed and PsycINFO were searched from 1999 to 2009. Quality assessment of included articles was made using the Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers' Manual. A total of 20 articles were included.

RESULTS: Five themes identified how the partner relationship is affected following cardiac disease, namely: overprotection, communication deficiency, sexual concerns, changes in domestic roles, and adjustment to illness. Patients reported feeling overprotected by their spouses which occasionally served as a fertile ground for arguments or conflicts. Most couples experienced some implications concerning their sexual life following cardiac disease, though in various degrees. Both patients and partners seemed to experience communication deficiency concerning emotions within their relationship following the event. Most couples experienced a shift in roles and responsibilities within their partner relationship. Even though most couples experienced great distress following being afflicted with cardiac disease they reported that the disease had brought them closer together.

CONCLUSION: The review found that though couples found the cardiac event distressful they conformed and adjusted their relationship to the new situation.